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Weekend in Paris - art, gardens and cats

Few weeks ago I decided to make a little trip to Paris and
it wasn't for romance but more for museums, to seek inspiration, find some
artistic resources.

The French capital is full of amazing art galleries,
beautiful sculpture gardens and lots of other hidden places, much more
interesting things to see than the Eiffel tower or the Champs Elysees
boulevard, known for the luxurious shops, for the fancy cafes and for its
theaters.

I will not deny that
I love to shop Paris and wander around
wearing a fancy dress and taking selfies for my Instagram. I do love that, but
beyond that, there is much more in Paris, much more that we miss seeing each
time we visit.

One of my favorite
places in Paris is Montmartre, the most historic and interesting neighborhood
in Paris. I was really happy that I found an affordable hotel in Montmartre,
right to the metro station and with a beautiful view of the Basilica of Sacre
Coeur from my room.

I agree that today, Montmartre is not anymore how it used to
be, but I still find it fascinating and artistic because this was the place so
loved by all the great artists and writers living in Paris the last century:
Van Gogh, Picasso, Modigliani and others
who used to live and work here.

........ remember Amelie ?

I hope you do because she was the sweetest thing ever and as
a fanatic fan I could not miss going to
Cafe des Deux Moulins, a very nice bistro bar with the most amazing fresh baked
croissant, crunchy fresh baguette and a strong flavorful coffee. I actually
been twice to Cafe des Deux Moulins, and both times I loved it. The place is
really busy and full of interesting people, hipster type people, tourists
looking for Amelie but despite the business this bistro has an amazing Parisian
atmosphere, something that is almost impossible to find somewhere on Champs Elysees
boulevard

Les Jardine Du Plantes is a magic place that reminds me of
Alice in Wonderland, a big beautiful botanical garden with more than 10,000
species of plants. Enchanting and romantic place, perfect for a promenade. I cant
wait to get back there.

A little bit less formal
but just as nice as other gardens in Paris, is Parc de Buttes-Chaumont,
also a magical place with nice green paths, waterfalls, temples and vertical
cliffs and beautiful green nature, perfect place to sit on the grass and relax, read a book, have a glass of wine
and a nice picnic.

Time
goes fast when you are in Paris, there are so many things to see and so little
time. I went in a big rush to Musee de l'Orangery where I did not spent as much
time as I wanted, so I will probably
talk about the museum another time. I still enjoyed my time spent
there but because it was so busy and almost closing time I could not breathe in
every detail as I have wished.

Le Cafe des Chats, a cool place for any cat lover . I had a
really nice and fun evening there, a delicious cheese platter in the company of
some furry friends. Just give me cats, flowers and food and I will be happy
:)....... a place like this is always a good reason to drive to Paris, isn't it?

Just before I left from Montmartre to the airport I had to
make one more little stop, Montmartre cemetery, a beautiful and calm place that
has a lot to tell.Romantic lay out,
rusted iron, big pieces of granite, a solemn and divine silence, Gothic and neo
Gothic architecture, extravaganttombs
and chapels, unique statues like I have never seen beforethe tombstones of Emile Zola, Stendhal, Edgar
Degas, Alexandre Dumas . Some people might think that visiting a cemetery is
something creepy, I think we need to grow and understand and accept that death
is a part of us, and death even if is sad it can inspire just as much as life
does.

I could not do/see
much in 3 days but I plan to visit again soon and continue with my thirst for
fine art and culture. Next time I hope to be able to see Musee de la Poupee (a
spooky collection of beautiful dolls ) Musee de la Vie Romantique (a
museumdedicated to romanticism with a
secret garden as well , yey !) Montparnasee Cemetery,Parc Floral du Paris.

I hope you
enjoyed my travel post :) If you have time or pleasure let me know about cool,
strange and amazing places in Paris.

********All photos used in this article are from my personal archive and they have copyright, please do not use any of the photos without my permission.

15 comments:

I have never been to Paris, but I would like to go. Every time I planned to go, something happened there, so I changed my plans. You have seen quite a lot for a weekend and I'm impressed that you even found the cat cafe in such a short time. I will be going to the West of France in august and I am looking forward to the croissants. :)